Mouse trap



1951 F. E. FITZSIMONS 2,574,322

MOUSE TRAP Filed Nov. 7, 1949 Q INVENTOR.

Ee /v/r E F/rzs/ma/vs ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 6, 1951 UNITED "STATES PATENT ,OFFICE I I 2,574,322 r V .7 I g V *MOUSE TRAP H 7 Frank- E. Fitzsimons, St. Louis, Mo. 2 Application Newman '1, 1949, Serial No. 125,981

This invention relates to a rodenttra'pand more particularly to a mouse trap, and has for its principal object the provision of a simple, highly eflicient mouse trap which can be-stamped from sheet material such as metal sheets, plastic sheets, cardboard sheets, and the-like, and which will not employ any'metallic springs of any kind, so that it can be manufactured with sufiicient economy to allow it to be discarded after each use, if desired. 2 I

A further object is to'provide a mouse trap which will employ arubber band in place of the usual jaw spring, and rubber retaining devices in place of the rivets and screwsof the usual trap. Y s I Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description. 7 a

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference ishad to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof.- Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout th'e' description.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved mouse trap in the set position;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof in the released position;

Fig. 3 is a detail, perspective View, illustrating a bait holding and trigger element employed in the improved mouse trap; and

Fig. 4 illustrates a simple hinge pin by means of which all of the elements of the improved trap are secured together.

The trap consists of four simple elements: a base plate [0, a tilting jaw frame M, a bait holder 3| and a trigger wire 26.

The base plate may be formed of any suitable form-retaining sheet material which can be blanked and stamped into shape and is formed with two triangular, upturned sides ll, an upturned rear end flange l2, and a downturned front edge flange l3..

The jaw frame. [4 is hingedly mounted between the sides H and also consists of a single blank of sheet material of a form-retaining type, such as sheet metal, cardboard, plastic, or the like. The

frame [4 is stamped, formed or folded to pro- D vide two side flanges l5, a from; end flange iii, an upturned rear edge I! and a middle opening 32. The forward extremities of the side flanges l5 are turned inwardly against the end flange l6, as shown at l8. to form reinforcement for the end flange I6. The'lower edge of the end flange I6 is preferably-serrated, as shown at H! to provide rodent engaging teeth.

I The frame I4 is hingedly secured betweenthe sides ll upon a hinge pin 20 provided with a bent head 2| at one extremity. The other extremity of the pin is passed through a rubber disc washer 22 which retains itself in placeonthe pin 20 by contraction of the rubber. The pin 20 is positioned at approximately the middle of both the frame M and thebase l0 so that the frame can freely tilt.or teeter-totter over the base I0. I The material of the frame I4 is indented on its inner .or undersideto form protuberances 23 on its upper side. .1 The base It. is similarly indented on its inner or upper side to form protuberances v24 on its lower side. .The protuberances 23 and 24 are for the purpose of holding a relativelystrong, flexible, wide rubber band 25 in place on the jaws. The downwardly turned forward edge I'3 alsoassists in holding therubher band in place.

It can be seen that the tendency ofthe 25 is to. constantly pull the forward extremity of the frame l4 against the forwardextremity of the base plate ID, as shown in Fig. 2. The pull of the band 25 is resisted when the trap is in the set position by meansof the trigger .wire 26, the lower extremity of which is looped, as shown at 21, through an opening in the rear end flange The forward extremity of the wire 26 is releasably held in either one of twonotches 28 formed in a trigger tab 29. The trigger tab is formed integrally with a treadle arm 30, the forward extremity of which is bent in a zigzag Z contour to form a bait holder 3!. The trigger tab, treadle arm, and bait'holder are all formed from a single strap of bendable material, as shOWnin detail in Fig. 3.

. To set the trap it is only necessary to squeeze the rear extremity ofthe frame [4 toward the rear extremity of the base plate ll], thence to passthe forward extremity of the trigger wire 26 into one of ,the. notches 28. The trap will then be held in the position of Fig. l. A rodent, in endeavoring to obtain the bait from the bait holder 3i, would dislodge the trigger tab 29 from the forward extremity of the bait wire 26, allowing the rubber band 25 to contract so as to close the trap to the closed position of Fig. 2.

The zigzag or Z bend on the treadle arm 30 facilitates the attachment of various baits thereto. For instance, the bait, indicated in broken line 3 at 33, Fig. 3, may be tied in place by means of a string 34 and the extremities of the string may be wedged into the lower notch of the Z bend to eliminate tying.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A rodent trap comprising: a base plate; two upwardly turned sides on said base plate; a jaw frame; two downwardly turned side flanges on said jaw frame; a downwardly turned front flange on said jaw frame, said side flanges being positioned between the sides of said base plate; a hinge pin extending through said sides and flanges at a point substantially midway of the length of said base plate and jaw frame so that said frame will be tiltably mounted on said base plate, both said base plates and said jaw frame being elongated and flat and of substantially equal length so that they will lie spaced-apart and parallel to each other throughout their lengths at the middle of the arc of tilt of said jaw frame; a trigger member mounted on said hinge pin; a trigger wire hingedly mounted on the rear extremity of said base plate and adapted to extend forwardly over the rear extremity of said frame into engagement with said trigger member, there being an opening in said frame for the passage of said wire, and an endless contractable element surrounding the forward extremities of said frame and said base plate and acting to urge said forward extremities toward each other.

2. A rodent trap comprising: a base plate; two upwardly turned sides of said base plate; a jaw frame; two downwardly turned side flanges on said jaw frame; a downwardly turned front flange on said jaw frame, said side flanges being positioned between the sides of said base plate; a hinge pin extending through said sides and flanges at a point substantially midway of the length of said base plate and jaw frame so that said frame will be tiltably mounted on said base plate, both said base plates and said jaw frame being elongated and flat and of substantially equal length so that they will lie spaced-apart and parallel to each other throughout their lengths at the middle of the arc of tilt of said jaw frame; a trigger member mounted on said hinge pin; a trigger wire hingedly mounted on the rear extremity of said base plate and adapted to extend forwardly over the rear extremity of said frame into engagement with said trigger member, there being an opening in said frame for the passage of said wire; an endless contractable element surrounding the forward extremities of said frame and said base plate and acting to urge said forward extremities toward each other; and means on said frame and said base for retaining said contractable member in place adjacent and parallel to the downwardly turned front flange on said jaw frame.

3. A rodent trap comprising: a base plate; two upwardly turned sides on said base plate; a jaw frame; two downwardly turned side flanges on said jaw frame; a downwardly turned front flange on said jaw frame, said side flanges being positioned between the sides of said base plate; a hinge pin extending through said sides and flanges at a point substantially midway of the length of said base plate and jaw frame so that said frame will be tiltabl-y mounted on said base plate, both said base plates and said jaw frame being elongated and flat and of substantially equal length so that they will lie spaced-apart and parallel to each other throughout their lengths at the middle of the arc of tilt of said jaw frame; a trigger member mounted on said hinge pin; a trigger wire hingedly mounted on the rear extremity of said base plate and adapted to extend forwardly over the rear extremity of said frame into engagement with said trigger member, there being an opening in said frame for the passage of said wire; and an endless rubber band surrounding the forward extremities of said treadle and said base member and acting to urge said latter extremities together.

4. A rodent trap comprising a base plate; two upwardly turned sides on said base plate; a jaw frame; two downwardly turned side flanges on said jaw frame; a downwardly turned front flange on said jaw frame, said side flanges being positioned between the sides of said base plate; a hinge pin extending through said sides and flanges at a point substantially midway of the length of said base plate and jaw frame so that said frame will be tiltably mounted on said base plate, both said base plates and said jaw frame being elongated and flat and of substantially equal length so that they will lie spaced-apart and parallel to each other throughout their lengths at the middle of the arc of tilt of said jaw frame; a trigger member mounted on said hinge pin; a trigger wire hingedly mounted on the rear extremity of said base plate and adapted to extend forwardly over the rear extremity of said frame into engagement with said trigger member, there being an opening in said frame for the passage of said wire; an endless rubber band surrounding the forward extremities of said treadle and said base member and acting to urge said latter extremities together; and protuberances formed on said frame and said base mem-'' ber adjacent the front edges of both and engaging said band and holding the latter parallel to the front flange on said jawframe,

FRANK E. FITZSIMONS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,675,532 Cessna -l- July 3, 1928 1,852,249 McCreary Apr. 5, 1932 2,109,481 Graybill Mar. 1, 1938 2,138,092 Evans Nov. 29, 1938 

